History

When the five scientists who designed the XXXG-00W0 (Wing Gundam Zero) in AC 180 went their separate ways, each of them took copies of the plans for their original Gundam design. Master O, who went into hiding in the L5 colonies, then went on to design and build his own Gundam based on their original plans. With the support of the powerful Long clan, Master O built the XXXG-01S Shenlong Gundam in preparation of Operation Meteor. Before Operation Meteor the original pilot of Shenlong was to be Meiran Long**. In AC 194 however, Earth Alliance and OZ forces attack the colony. Meiran Long, desperate to stop them even though the Shenlong was incomplete, heads out in a prototype leo at the facility instead. Once Wufei discovers Meiran out fighting, he joins her in the incomplete Shenlong. Together they are able to dispatch the enemy mobile suits, but Meiran later dies from what is assumed to be internal organ damage from excessive G-forces inflicted in the fight. With this, Wufei swears to attain justice for the world on his wife's behalf, and takes on the role of Shenlong's pilot. Not wanting to use the Gundam as a tool for genocide, Wufei refused to take part in Operation Meteor's planned colony drop, instead taking his Gundam (named "Nataku" after Mei Lan's nickname) to Earth to fight OZ's forces directly in a bid for revenge.

Constructed with nearly-indestructible gundanium alloy, "Gundam 05" (as it was code-named by OZ's forces) was armed with the standard head vulcan guns, but being a mobile suit for close combat, it carried a beam glaive as a primary weapon. "Shen long" is Chinese for "god dragon," and the Shenlong Gundam lived up to its name, as its other main weapon was its "dragon fang," composed of the flexibly long right arm and a "dragon head" claw. The dragon fang arm worked effectively both as a grappling and a striking weapon, and it also mounted a pair of flamethrowers, giving the dragon a little more "bite." The Shenlong also carried a "shenlong shield," which doubled as a good throwing weapon. With the same deadly ferocity as his own martial arts skills, Wufei would use his Nataku as his sword of justice against OZ.

After the Gundam pilots make their trip back to space for the first time, Wufei takes his Gundam to assasinate Chief Engineer Tsubarov of the Romefellar Foundation. In the process he is captured by security forces from the Lunar base, and while Wufei is imprisoned, the Gundam is reduced to scraps. The scraps were then sent to the Lunar base for storage, but the five scientists who originally built the Gundams were there as well, and use the scraps to rebuild the Shenlong. The rebuilt Shenlong incorporated several new features and weapons, and the new model was renamed to Altron. Eventually Wufei breaks out and takes the new Altron with him, and from then on Wufei continues to pilot it through Endless Waltz.

The Story Behind the Name

When prompted by Master O, Wufei gave Shenlong as the name for the XXXG-01S because "Nataku is too weak to serve as this clan's protector." However, after Wufei's wife, the self-proclaimed Nataku, gives her life to protect their colony from an attack, Wufei claims that it is Nataku's spirit that resides within Shenlong. From that point on, he always refers to the Gundam as "Nataku," rather than Shelong, and this name carries on with Altron as well.

**Some translations have her name as Meiran Long, whereas others have it as Mei Lan Long.